Monthly Archives: February 2018

Bulgarian Football Union launches comprehensive integrity tour with Sportradar

Today, the Bulgarian Football Union (BFU) sat alongside Sportradar at a press conference to outline its education strategy that will see 32 workshops per season covering referees, BFU officials and all football players from the 1st and 2nd professional leagues along with individual e-learning modules and assessments each year.

The powerful statement of intent, a pledge to the fans and all the stakeholders of Bulgarian football, is reinforced by the fact that attendance of the workshops and completion of the e-learning modules and assessments will be mandatory for all players playing at 1st and 2nd professional leagues.

“On behalf of the Bulgarian Football Union, I’m very delighted to sign this contract. As President of the BFU, I promise my full support to this initiative. I am in no doubt that I speak for all my collegues in our Federation in this regard”, Mr Mihaylov said about the agreement.

“This agreement means a lot to us.  We are taking a step forward, supplmenting the monitoring of the games already in place with a powerful educational strategy.  I believe that organizing workshops all around the country will help us to present our position and so keep the integrity mission growing. This tour is one of our top priorities for the next few months“, said Deputy general secretary Pavel Kolev

Unikrn projected to be in the frontline to launch crypto betting with Maltese Sandboxed license

Esports and Crypto Giant, Unikrn, Targeting to Launch in April 2018

(Seattle, Wa) – February 15, 2018 – Unikrn, a veteran esports betting operator, and publisher of gaming’s most successful decentralized token, UnikoinGold (UKG), welcomes the MGA’s forward looking approach towards the development of a “sandbox environment” for cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies.

Unikrn is unique as it’s a publisher of a major ERC20 token and the creator of a completely custom blockchain platform designed for a highly regulated industry. Unikrn also holds a Malta Gaming Authority license for online sports betting.

Unikrn is planning to be one of the first in line to launch within the parameters of this environment, and expects to begin offering crypto esports betting in some markets in Europe by Q2 2018. This will be following their fiat betting rollout across the same region of Europe, also powered by their MGA-issued license, expected in early 2018.

After ICE 2018, BtoBet is ready for its “Technifying iGaming Tour 2018” in Italy, Eastern-Europe, Latam, Africa, USA.

The multinational iGaming and Sports betting technology provider BtoBet has just successfully concluded the first stop of its “Technifying iGaming Tour 2018” in London. The next European stopover will be in Italy, ENADA Primavera, followed by other strategic sessions in Moscow, Colombia, Uganda, Cyprus, Vienna, Peru, Amsterdam, Nigeria, Hungary and the USA.

The itinerant roadshows will bring BtoBet’s comprehensive suite of products – including a full sportsbook platform called Neuron Sports for bookmakers and the iGaming platform called Neuron Gaming – to the major tradeshows worldwide, showing how operators equipped with adequate technology can succeed in the regulated and evolving local markets.

The live 3D humanoid image, that left all visitors astonished at the stand in London, will accompany the Tour in all its stopovers and will highlight how the company’s technology perfectly combines computer science and human ability to ensure clients enjoy a significant brand impact on their target markets, with profitable results.

Commenting on the exhibition at ICE Totally Gaming and the next steps for the company, BtoBet’s Chairman Alessandro Fried stated:

Nissi Casino adds live online casino games by Evolution Gaming

Online Casinos are meant to offer their customers the best of casino services. This keeps them interested and keeps them coming back for an excellent live casino games experience. This is the motto guiding Nissi Casino games.

Nissi offers a wide range of virtual table and card games. At Nissi casino games, you will find different types of casino machine games on the ground to help deliver the best gaming experience to customers.

NissiCasino.com is a newly introduced online casino game from the UK. It is run by SG international N. V. The online casino gaming company comprises of iGaming experts from across Cyprus and Europe. It is registered and licensed by the government of Curacao.

They have a collection of more than 2000 high-quality casino games. These casino games are contributed by several casino software innovators such as Microgaming, NetEnt, and Betsoft. NissiCasino.com also has casino dealers that are provided by Evolution Gaming and NetEnt.

NOVOMATIC continues a course of growth and consolidation

NOVOMATIC, Europe’s leading gaming technology group, once again impressed with the biggest appearance at the world’s most important gaming fair, ICE Totally Gaming 2018 in London. 

On February 6-8, across a surface area of approximately 4,700m2, a total of 25 group companies presented the comprehensive NOVOMATIC product portfolio. The offer ranged from high-end casino equipment, systems and cash management solutions to arcade and pub products, sports betting, and online, mobile and social gaming. Four brand new cabinets were unveiled – PANTHERA™, PANTHERA™ Curve, V.I.P. Lounge™ Curve and Grand Roulette II – for international casino markets. The Enchanted Fortunes Linked Jackpot™ presented an array of special jackpot games and licensed content played a major role on the stand with themed games based on From Dusk Till Dawn, Batman, Austin Powers and Sherlock Holmes.

“With this trade show appearance, which was again the largest, NOVOMATIC continues to prove that as a full-service provider, we are among the world’s leading gaming technology groups,” said Harald Neumann, CEO of NOVOMATIC AG.

The NOVOMATIC Group, furthermore, was proud to receive two prestigious awards during ICE in London. NOVOMATIC was presented with the award for “Casino Supplier of the Year” at the Global Gaming Awards London 2018 at a VIP ceremony that took place at the iconic Hippodrome Casino. On the next day at the British Casino Awards, which took place at the same central London venue and brought together representatives from UK and European casino industries, ADMIRAL received the “European Casino Operator of the Year” award.

Nevada’s first Lightning Link Lounge opens today at Silverton Casino Hotel

LAS VEGAS (February 15, 2018) – Lightning has struck at Silverton Casino Hotel! Las Vegas’ favorite off-strip casino is now home to Nevada’s first Lightning Link™ Lounge™, a space on the casino floor dedicated exclusively to the world’s most popular video slot game, Aristocrat’s Lightning Link™.

Silverton’s Lightning Link Lounge houses 36 games, is conveniently located in the former Slot Tournament Room, and was created to respond to customer demand.

“Our players have loved Lightning Link from the minute the first game arrived on property. Ever since, we have had more and more demand for the game, and it grew to the point where it made sense to dedicate a space to this incredibly electrifying game,” said Bryan Binek, Silverton’s Executive Director of Gaming and Operations.

Silverton’s Lightning Link Lounge grand opening takes place in the Lounge from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. tonight, Wednesday, February 14, 2018.  Free slot play will be offered to the first 200 guests that arrive. Guests who attend the grand opening will receive complimentary gifts and passed champagne, while supplies last.

Net Gaming sells ‘Battle of Malta’ to Casino Malta

Net Gaming Europe AB has sold the concept, trademark and brand domain name for the award-winning poker tournament The Battle of Malta to Casino Malta Limited for €300,000.

Winston Churchill once called Malta an unsinkable aircraft carrier as the Germans and Italians flew 3,000+ air raids on the strategic military position during World War II. The historians amongst you may be thinking about this when I mention the words – Battle of Malta.

Not me.

I think about poker.

Uruguay just days away from online gambling domain blocking

Uruguay will follow through on its threat to begin blocking international online gambling sites within days, according to the state-owned gambling monopoly.

Last September, Uruguay’s President Tabaré Vázquez signed legislation banning all online gambling except the Supermatch sports betting product offered by the National Directorate of Lotteries and Quinielas (DNLQ). The legislation also authorized the state to impose enforcement measures including blocking the domains of unauthorized gambling sites.

On Wednesday, local media outlet El Pais quoted DNLQ chief Luis Gama that his office had identified a number of offending domains, which would be subject to blocking “in the coming days.” Gama cited UK online betting giant Bet365 and GVC Holdings’ Bwin brand – don’t forget GVC’s Sportingbet – as among the most popular international sites with Uruguayan punters.

To achieve its objectives, the DNLQ has teamed with telecom authority Unidad Reguladora de Servicios de Comunicaciones (Ursec) and local internet service providers, but also with the Banco Central del Uruguay and credit card companies to properly frustrate Uruguayan punters’ efforts to continue patronizing their favorite sites.

No WPT tragedy for King Leah just deals, chip dumps and drama

Lee Davy shares his opinion on Mike Leah and Ryan Yu’s behaviour during the heads-up phase of the recent World Poker Tour Main Event in Fallsview leading to Leah’s title win and an outcry from some sections of the poker community.

Can you imagine winning a World Poker Tour (WPT) title?

I can’t.

The experience is different for a professional poker player compared with someone who files the game alongside Spotify, Netflix and watching Match of the Day on a Saturday night.

CardsChat Interview: Jason Somerville on Twitch Streaming, Karaoke, and Upcoming ‘Run It Up Reno’ Event

Jason Somerville will be hosting Run It Up Reno at the Peppermill Resort & Casino from March 26 through April 2. The stop will be the tournament series’ biggest ever, […]

The post CardsChat Interview: Jason Somerville on Twitch Streaming, Karaoke, and Upcoming ‘Run It Up Reno’ Event appeared first on .

Atlantic City casinos shovelling snow, not money, in January

Atlantic City casinos started 2018 off on the wrong foot, as no one wanted to brave the snow to play slots or table games in January.

On Wednesday, the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) reported that Atlantic City’s seven casino operators generated combined brick-and-mortar gaming revenue of $162.3m in January, down 12.6% from January 2017’s total.

The poor showing would have been much worse were it not for the operators’ online gambling sites, which brought in a record $22m in January, which nudged up the market’s overall gaming revenue year-on-year decline to a slightly less dire 9.9%.

The decline wasn’t the fault of any one vertical, as slots revenue fell 11.4% to $109.5m while table games were down 15.1% to $52.8m. The downturn also wasn’t simply the case of gamblers playing lucky, as all seven operators reported significant declines in both slots handle and table drop.

Champions League last 16 review: Spurs comeback; City cruise

A round-up of the first two ties of the Champions League Round of 16 including a fabulous comeback from Spurs in Turin, and a smooth ride for Man City in Switzerland. 

Mauricio Pochettino called his Spurs side more mature as they fought back from two goals down to draw in the first leg of their Round of 16 tie against Juventus in the Champions League, last night.

Spurs arrived in Turin with the scalps of Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund on full display. Adding skin from the Italian giants would be too much surely? Juventus had contested the final twice in the past three years and had beaten English opposition the last six times they had faced them in this contest.

And talk about the dream start.

New Jersey, Golden Nugget set online gambling revenue records

New Jersey’s regulated online gambling market set a new revenue record in January, while the Golden Nugget smashed its own individual operator revenue record.

Figures released Wednesday by the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) show the state’s online gambling licensees generated combined revenue of just under $22m in January, 16.7% higher than the same month last year and topping the previous market record of $21.7m set in March 2017.

January’s gains came despite a truly sucktastic month for online poker revenue, which was essentially flat from December 2017’s total but down 16.6% year-on-year to just $1.95m. The market’s poker nadir came last June, when the vertical managed to generate only $1.73m.

Meanwhile, the dependably juiced-up casino vertical improved 21.4% to just over $20m, which all by itself was enough to extend the market’s overall $20m+ revenue streak to 11 consecutive months.

Kindred Group’s record revenue thanks to gaudy sports margin

Online gambling operator Kindred Group set revenue records in the final quarter of 2017 thanks to new acquisitions and the bad luck of sports bettors.

Figures released Wednesday by the Stockholm-listed Kindred show revenue hitting £238m in the three months ending December 31, 2017, a nearly 56% improvement from the same period one year earlier and a new company record. Earnings nearly doubled to £74.5m while after-tax profit shot up nearly 73% to £50.8m.

For the year as a whole, Kindred’s revenue rose 38% to £751.4m, earnings were up 49.5% to £185m and profit gained 40% to £117.4m. Kindred CEO Henrik Tjärnström credited the boffo performance to investments in marketing and product development, and what he called “an exceptional sportsbook margin approximately 50% above the long-term average.”

Gross margins for pre-game sports wagers before free bets were a gaudy 16.2% in Q4, up 6.1 points year-on-year. The margin on all sports bets before free bets was up nearly three points to 11.7%, while the after free bets margin improved 3.5 points to 10.5%.